An Easy Button For Carbon Market Enrollment
Dylan Barth, a regional agronomy sales manager at CFS in central Minnesota, shares the success they’ve had in building a precision ag program to cover more than 300,000 acres and be able to help growers change their agronomic decisions in light of changing ROI equations. He also gives three core questions they ask every potential new hire to help properly onboard the right team members to serve their farmers.
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“I think the farmers that will be the most profitable this year will be the ones that focus on the changing ROI equation with the markets that are the way they are today,” he says. “It’s a different ROI equation and we've had probably for the last three to five years.”
He’s encouraged with the digital infrastructure they’ve built with farmers in their Central Advantage precision ag program, which he says not only helps farmers pinpoint ROI of agronomic decisions, but also get them set up for future opportunities, such as carbon programs.
“It about turning data that is out there in the ether and unused and not as valuable as it could be, and we can turn it into something of value,” Barth explains.
Since every farm is different, he says data can give farmers the confidence to use products on their farm that will provide incremental bushels, which are worth more in today’s commodity markets.
“A small sliver of the things CFS can gather an provide as insights to our growers includes: incremental value of using fungicide, what is the incremental value of using a micronutrient package. What is the incremental value of managing a hybrid and the way that it wants to be managed to provide the best ROI,” Barth explains.
There is a dedicated team of precision ag specialist focusing on data collection. Having the intentionally to collect high quality data has been key in building this program’s potential.
“Our mantra is if you're in Central Advantage, don't worry we have your information,” Barth says, which is increasing valuable as oppourtnies arise with carbon markets—which require data as a baseline for participation.
“We have the data that they're going to require. We can make it an easy button if farmers choose to enroll in one,” he says. “And that's really one of our value propositions of Central Advantage is to say hey, we have you covered if and when you decide to do that.”
In another part of his role, Barth helps lead the onboarding of new team members. And in that role he has found three key aspects to successfully expanding their team:
- Attitude
- Desire to learn
- Knowing the reality of agriculture
“If you are positive, come and want to learn and serve growers, that is what we are looking for. The best folks on our team are always looking to hone their skills, improve their craft and get better. And we don’t always work 9 to 5, so you have to be willing to put in the effort,” Barth says.
